Baldur
Baldur (Also known as The Stranger) is the son of Odin and Freya, brother of Thor, uncle of Magni and Modi and the main antagonist in God of War. In Norse Mythology Baldur (Also known as Balder ''', and in Old Norse: Baldr') was the son of the Odin (King of the Gods) and his wife Frigg. He was known to be beautiful and just and was the favourite of the Aesir gods. Most legends about him concern his death. After Frigg and him had a dream in which they saw his death (with dreams being prophetic in Norse mythology), Frigg asked everything in creation to promise to not harm Baldur, only forgetting to ask mistletoe, as she thought it was harmless. Icelandic stories tell how the gods amused themselves by throwing objects at him (knowing that he was immune from harm). The blind god Höd, deceived by Loki, killed Baldur by hurling mistletoe, the only thing that could hurt him. After Balder’s funeral, the messenger Hermod was sent to Hel, the goddess of the land of the dead also known as Hel, to ask for Baldur's return. Hel asked that every being in creation weep for Baldur, and every being did, except the giantess Thökk (which was Loki in disguise),who refused to weep the tears that would release Baldur from death. Baldur's death was the start of Ragnarök: The Death of the Norse Gods. Biography God Of War Baldur answers to Odin's call to hunt down Kratos, he makes his move at the latter's home. Kratos is first unwilling to give in and fight Baldur (even through Baldur continuously taunts and punches him). He finally gives in and punches Baldur in the face, sending the latter to the ground. When Kratos tries to tell him to leave, Baldur exclaims "My turn!" before punching Kratos in the face and sending him flying across the house. The two start to brutally fight and Kratos is able to overpower Baldur, but the latter seems unaffected by the punches and reveals he doesn't feel pain, exclaiming he will beat Kratos after the older Spartan tires out. Kratos seemingly kills Baldur by snapping his neck. However, as Baldur is invulnerable, he survived. Gathering his nephews, Magni and Modi, they visit the imprisoned ambassador of the Norse gods, Mimir, hoping to gain the knowledge of Kratos' and his son. Unfortunately, Mimir doesn't know where the two are and even when Baldur promises to put in a good word for him when he returns to Odin, Mimir isn't impressed. The trio then leave just as Kratos and his son arrive. Later, when Kratos, Mimir, and Atreus prepare to go to Jötunheim, Baldur ambushes them and goads Atreus into attacking him, abducting him shortly after and fleeing on a dragon. Kratos intercepts them, and fights Baldur, who eventually makes it to the Gateway, and puts in Asgard as the destination. Weapons & Powers '''Superhuman Strength' - Baldur has strength far surpassing that of any mortal or monster. He has enough strength to harm Jörmungandr (the world serpent), and is seemingly equal in strength to Kratos, (Although it should be noted that Kratos was caught off guard the first and second time and seemed to only want to escape the fights, while the third time he could easily fight him on equal footing and was focused on ending the cycle of vengeance). His strength may even rival that of Thor, who is known to be the strongest among the gods with the excpetion of odin and has a belt that gives him twice the strength he naturally has. Superhuman Speed and Agility - Baldur, possibly due to his power over light, can move at extremely high speeds, much faster than Kratos. He uses this efficiently in combat, darting around enemies before striking them. Durability - Due to being a god, Baldur is extremely durable, even without his invulnerability, allowing him to take extreme punishment, however, his natural durability is not enough to stop Kratos from killing him or dealing what would normally be death blows over their many battles. Light - Due to being the god of light, Baldur is capable of using light in combat. The runes on his body, as well as his eyes, will light up when he uses his power. He can use light to move at extreme speeds, to send a shock wave through the ground, cause an explosion of energy, or to power his punches even more. Invulnerability - Baldur's greatest power, given to him from his mother Freya, who cast a spell when he was born as an attempt to stop him from dying a needless death as was prophesied. He is invulnerable to anything, even Kratos' Blades of Chaos, weapons from Greece. He can be harmed, but no serious injury can be inflicted, nor will his injuries last, as his body will naturally heal at an extremely fast rate. He also cannot feel any injuries, nor anything at all, enabling him to continue to fight without being slowed by his wounds, even allowing him to easily attack The World Serpent and walk out of the cold depths of the lake he resided in. His only weakness is mistletoe, the one plant his mother did not foresee harming him. Upon striking Atreus and stabbing his hand with a mistletoe arrow, he could not only feel again but could be harmed, much to his joy. Hand to Hand Combat - Most likely because of his physical abilities and invulnerability, Baldur does not use weapons in combat. He favors his own physical fighting capabilities above all else and is extremely skilled. He can quickly strike, utilizing punches and kicks. He also uses elbows, knees and even some grappling, including suplexing Kratos in their first fight. His skill in pure hand to hand combat is unmatched, showing more skill than even Kratos (a trained spartan warrior with many victories under his belt) only losing due to Kratos' strength and weapons (although during their first fight Kratos did eventually overpower him unarmed, by nearly choking him out with a rear naked choke and eventually breaking his neck unarmed). He can couple his moves with his superior speed, strength, and control over light to decimate enemies, even Jörmungandr. Trivia * His Greek equivalent (in terms of attributes) is Apollo. * Some Norse text describe him as the god of love and beauty which would make him equivalent to Eros, however he didn't shown any type of amokinesis abilities in the game. * Balder's invulnerability was somewhat similar to the Greek Curse of Achilles. * In Norse mythology, Baldur's death was the beginning of Ragnarök, the end of many Gods like Odin, Thor, and Loki. ** This maybe is hinting that future games will include not only other gods but also their deaths (similar to the original trilogy where the death of Ares symbolized the end of the Greek Gods). * According to Mimir, Baldur is Odin's finest tracker. * Many fans mistook Baldur for Loki, The God of Mischief. Category:Characters Category:Norse Mythology Æsir Category:Deceased Category:God of War (2018) Category:Immortals Category:Males